Cycle carrier for hatchback?

[Klaus]

Whilst I can just about get my bike into an Audi A3 (rear seats down) it is a bit of a faff - can anyone recommend a reasonably easy to install and take off carrier.
I have to park on the public road and don't want to leave it on for vandals to play with. Max capacity two bikes. Did obtain a no-name freeby a while ago but without instructions and an open bag of hardware, and couldn't make head or tail of it, not even sure all bits where there.

[jimmea]

If you put make and model into this site it'll tell you what suits. (you don't have to buy from there though)

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/

[ACyclingRooster]

Whilst I can just about get my bike into an Audi A3 (rear seats down) it is a bit of a faff - can anyone recommend a reasonably easy to install and take off carrier.
I have to park on the public road and don't want to leave it on for vandals to play with. Max capacity two bikes. Did obtain a no-name freeby a while ago but without instructions and an open bag of hardware, and couldn't make head or tail of it, not even sure all bits where there.

Hi Klaus. I have a BMW 325Ci convertible and recently bought a SARIS Bone 2.  It will fit a range of vehicles from convertibles through to  estate cars/touring.
They have the most simple and quite amazing adjustment that I have ever seen and leave the high-line metal tube type for dead.

They are made of recycled plastic and is grey in colour with an adjustment core that is made of machined aluminium.

I have marked mine with a permanent marker as to the position for a quick easy return for both of my two vehicles that the rack will fit.
I paid £105.00 Sterling from Halfords in the UK.

[trekker12]

+1 for the Saris Bone 2. I fit ours to our Peugeot 206 with no issues. It obscures the number plate but I have a spare one I cable tie to the rear bike on the rack.

A word of warning, the locking screws are plastic and I found the thread had completely shredded on the main arm one the other day. However it gets fairly regular use and I bought it second hand about five years ago so they are pretty hardy. You can buy packs of six replacement screws - I got mine from Tredz but they are also on Ebay so it's probably worth having a set carried in the car when you are using it.

[Samuel D]

I have a smaller car (Citroën C1) and find my bicycle easily goes upright across the floor at the back as long as the wheels are removed and put in the boot (for which purpose exist quick-release skewers) and the handlebar is turned a quarter revolution. Everything is held low and stationary in a sandwich between the front seats and the bench of the back seats with this arrangement. That’s good for the bicycle and my safety in a car crash.

I’m not sure why I see this method so rarely used. It beats carrying a bicycle outside in the muck of the slipstream, where it also harms fuel consumption on long runs – the only sort I do by car or I would ride.

Two bicycles would be problematic or impossible; I haven’t tried. For that a carrier makes more sense.

[Klaus]

Thanks for your inputs, will have a look at the various options.

[vorsprung]

If you are in Devon I have a spare carrier in the garage.  Used to use it on a VW Golf

[Klaus]

It seems that for my car, Audi A3 Sportback [8V] (2013 onwards), there is no suitable rear carrier available!
This maybe due to the Sportback fitting made out of plastic or fibreglass. I have been looking at Halford, Saris and the Roofbox website with the same results, not suitable. And I don't have a towbar.
Anyway, maybe I should hold off for the moment, as it's a company car and due for renewal next year (if I'm lucky). We are allowed to specify extras so I might just go for the towbar if it's another similar model. I don't take the bike by car that often, it's probably preferable (and cheaper) to faff around with putting it inside the car, for the time being.

[trekker12]

TBH, that's my plan. When the faithful old Peugeot has really finally had enough I aim to buy a car with a towball.

I'm happy travelling locally with the Saris but long distances make me a little nervous with it and you can't lock the bikes on when you stop at services etc.